Investigation Into Meeting House Electrocution Continues

By Andrew Gorosko

A federal safety agency and town police this week were continuing their investigations into a fatal industrial accident on July 26 at the Meeting House at 31 Main Street, which killed one painter by electrocution and seriously burned another painter, when an aluminum ladder that they were handling made contact with an 8,000-volt live power line on the south side of the building.

Ivan Patricio Tenecela-Velez, 25, of Port Chester, N.Y., died in the accident.  Mr Tenecela-Velez was pronounced dead at Danbury Hospital. Following an autopsy, the state medical examiner’s office confirmed that Mr Tenecela-Velez died due to accidental electrocution.

Victor Saquisela, 21, also of Port Chester, who was a patient in the Bridgeport Hospital burn unit after the accident, was discharged from the hospital earlier this week following treatment, according to a hospital spokesman.

Both Mr Tenecela-Velez and Mr Saquisela were originally from Ecuador. The two men were among a work crew that was completing a repainting project on the eastern side of the Meeting House, a town-owned structure, which formerly served as the Newtown Congregational Church. The landmark building stands at the intersection of Main Street and West Street, adjacent to the Main Street flagpole.

On the morning of August 4, workmen were again spotted using aluminum ladders on the east side of the Meeting House to apparently install storm windows there. When asked what they were doing and who their supervisor was, the workers indicated they did not understand English. The workmen came to the site in an unmarked white commercial van.

Federal safety regulations caution against using aluminum ladders near overhead power lines to avoid accidental electrocutions.

Campbell Quality Painting, LLC, of Weston, which is headed by Pete Campbell, was doing the repainting project on July 26. Mr Campbell was not at the Meeting House when the accident occurred, but arrived soon thereafter. Mr Campbell could not be reached for comment this week.

On August 4, Kim Austin, a supervisor in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Bridgeport office, declined comment on the July 26 accident. “It’s an open investigation. We really can’t make any comment at this time,” she said. The agency has up to six months to complete such investigations, she added.

Similarly, Ted Fitzgerald, an OSHA spokesman in the organization’s Boston regional office, declined comment on the accident. “As far as I know, we still have an open investigation,” he said.

Newtown police Sergeant Douglas Wisentaner said police have been in contact with Mr Campbell for information for their investigation.

Police have compiling the various workmen’s identities and their places of residence, he said. Police are coordinating their investigation with OSHA’s probe, the sergeant said.

“We have to make sure that the information is documented properly,” he said. Police will forward any requested information to OSHA, he said.

The two painters were taking down an aluminum extension ladder on the south side of the Meeting House about 3:55 pm July 26, when the ladder made contact with power lines that run along West Street, near the building. As the two men were moving the 35-foot-long ladder, which had been resting on the south side of the building, the ladder made contact with a nearby 8,000-volt primary power line that is positioned 32 feet above the ground. When a metal object such as a ladder comes into contact with a high-voltage power line, the ladder becomes electrified, conducting that voltage to anyone in contact with the ladder.